Publications

With the European Green Deal and its comprehensive "Fit for 55" legislative package the EU aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. 27 directives and regulations as well as a huge amount of related ordinances create the framework in which companies and private consumers are to develop business models and behavior geared towards climate neutrality.

The EU is the only major economic power that wants to regulate all its CO₂ emissions by 2030. This will enable comprehensive control and gradual reduction of the EU's annual CO₂ emissions. This is unique in the world and a remarkable achievement. The European CO2 Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) plays a central role with its trading system for industry and energy which was introduced 20 years ago, and the system for transport and buildings, which will apply from 2027 or 2028 onwards. This alone will cover 70-80% of CO₂ emissions in the EU by the end of the decade.

In his chapter "Critical Review of the EU 'Fit for 55' Package" of the "European Energy Law Report XV" published in 2025 (published by Larcier-Intersentia) Ruprecht Brandis analyzes which EU regulations will apply regarding the EU's future energy mix as well as the crucial areas of industry, transport and residential heating. It also includes an initial assessment with comparisons and references to the green tech programs of the USA and China.

Given the responsibilities shared between Brussels and EU member states, the EU has little choice but to achieve its climate goals through comprehensive regulation. This leads to considerable complexity and the open question of whether climate neutrality can be achieved in this way. Considering how the EU is constituted, however, it probably has no other choice. That is why it is most crucial that the EU refrains from over-regulation, over-complexity and the ambition to determine every detail of the energy transition centrally from Brussels.